Summary

A few months have passed and Sarat still mostly recluses herself in the shed. This worries Simon and Karina, who argue about it frequently. Sarat has become a mystery to Benjamin, and he notices that she sometimes goes to their greenhouse with paper diaries. He resolves to find out what Sarat is doing and attempts to sneak into the greenhouse, but falls and breaks his arm. Sarat rushes to help him, and tends his arm with a makeshift prosthetic plank. He explains that he “just wanted to know” (285). Benjamin’s accident infuriates Karina, and she proclaims that Sarat is a danger to him.

Karina and Sarat have an honest and heartfelt conversation. They talk about Benjamin, about Sarat’s interrogations at Sugarloaf, and about Karina’s marriage to Simon. Karina tries to sympathize with Sarat, but Sarat resists and says that “they broke me...